To the Editor: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) with reduced susceptibility to glycopeptides (vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus, or VISA) was initially described in Japan,1 then the United States,2 and subsequently other regions of the world. Recently, Ward and colleagues reported the initial Australian isolate — a heteroresistant VISA (hVISA) strain — in Melbourne, Victoria.3 We report the first isolation of hVISA in Sydney, New South Wales.
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- 1. Hiramatsu K, Hanaki H, Ino T, et al. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clinical strain with reduced vancomycin susceptibility. J Antimicrob Chemother 1997; 40: 135-136.
- 2. Tenover FC, Biddle JW, Lancaster MV. Increasing resistance to vancomycin and other glycopeptides in Staphylococcus aureus. Emerg Infect Dis 2001; 7: 327-332.
- 3. Ward PB, Johnson PD, Grabsch EA, et al. Treatment failure due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin. Med J Aust 2001; 175: 480-483.
- 4. Walsh TR, Bolmstrom A, Qwarnstrom A, et al. Evaluation of current methods for detection of staphylococci with reduced susceptibility to glycopeptides. J Clin Microbiol 2001; 39: 2439-2444.
- 5. Chambers HF. Clinical role of linezolid and quinupristin-dalfopristin in treatment of staphylococcal infections. Abstracts of the 10th International Symposium on Staphylococci and Staphylococcal Infections; 2002 16–19 Oct; Tsukuba, Japan, 2002. ISSSI-351-Abstract-03.